Insurances will not necessarily come on top of your mind when you start a business in Singapore because there are very limited contractual obligations. Indeed, unless your business is employing manual worker or workers with salary below SGD 1,600 per month, there are no compulsory insurances in Singapore for most businesses.

However, the environment is not risks free and we will highly recommend you to cover the following risks:

Public liability will cover your basic risk exposure toward third party like your landlord. This insurance may be required by your landlord in your rental contract so make sure you did not miss it. Even if it is not, it is wise to cover any damages or bodily injury you may caused to third party, even for a total amount as low as SGD 500,000.

2.Worker’s injury compensation (WIC)

WIC will follow Minister of Manpower’s requirement in case of work-related injury. By purchasing this insurance, you will be sure that you are not liable fully covered for indemnity paid to your employee following work-related accident. This insurance is compulsory for manual worker or for those with salary below SDG 1,600 but it is recommended to cover all the staff under this policy.

3.Property damages

If you have a large stock value or assets in your company, it is wise to cover them against any natural disasters. Singapore is not very prone to natural disasters fortunately but the premium rate are also much lower for this reason than other countries in the region. And an accident may always happen so it is wise to cover your assets properly

There is no social security in Singapore so it is common for company to buy group medical and accident plan for their staff as part of their employment package. The costs are quite low as medical expenses for Singaporean and Permanent Resident is highly subsidized. If you have Employment Pass holder, you may consider higher coverage as they do not have access to subsidized rates.

5.Group Travel insurance

Due to size of Singapore, it is quite likely that your staff will be travelling abroad so it is wise to buy travel insurance for your staff: it could be just for one trip or for on annual basis for all outbound trips. Keep in mind that your local medical plan may not cover much outside of Singapore. it is actually very cheap and will secure any accidents any unexpected illnesses while travelling for business or leisure outside of Singapore.